A&O Shearman has hired a pair of partners from Stephenson Harwood in London as global co-heads of its secondaries practice.
Sarah de Ste Croix, who had been head of private equity at her former firm, has joined alongside Gabriel Boghossian and their team, in a move A&O Shearman said established it as one of only three firms in the industry to hold a Band 1 ranking for secondaries transactions.
The partners bring experience across the full spectrum of secondaries including continuation vehicles, LP portfolios, GP stakes and other liquidity solutions. Between them they have worked with clients including Deutsche Private Equity, Swiss PE firm Ufenau, Kline Hill Partners and Five Arrows. In 2021 de Ste Croix also counselled Horizon Capital on the first GP-led secondary in Ukraine and a successor fundraise against the backdrop of military conflict.
De Ste Croix led the legal function for private funds at EY before joining Stephenson Harwood in 2019 and took over leadership of its PE practice two years ago, according to her LinkedIn profile. Meanwhile, Boghossian, who was head of Stephenson Harwood's secondaries practice, joined the firm in 2017 having been a partner at King & Wood Mallesons and a senior solicitor at Macfarlanes.
Peter Banks, global co-head of private equity at A&O Shearman, said the partners' hire was a “transformative step" for the firm's private equity and wider private capital platform.
"GP-led secondaries have evolved from a niche product into a permanent, multi-billion-dollar capital channel in private markets, routinely considered by fund managers when considering possible exits for an asset, and we are delighted that Gabriel and Sarah are joining us,” he added.
At A&O Shearman, the incoming team will join more than 200 partners who work with private capital clients globally.
De Ste Croix pointed to the size of the firm's platform, which boasts nearly 4,000 lawyers across 29 countries.
“We see a huge opportunity to build the next generation of secondaries offering, one with truly global reach,” she said. “We are taking an established outfit and giving it unparalleled scale and opportunity across all asset classes and
jurisdictions.”
Boghossian added the move was “a strategic bet" on the growth of the secondaries market.
The move comes amid intense competition for secondaries talent in London among top law firms. Earlier this month, Debevoise & Plimpton hired Mary Lavelle from Freshfields, where she had been global private funds and secondaries co-head, and Simpson Thacher added partner Simon Saitowitz from Weil, little more than a year after he joined the firm from Ropes & Gray. Weil had hired Kirkland & Ellis secondaries partner Charles Cooper-Isow in April.
Earlier this week, Stephenson Harwood hired a lawyer apiece from Clyde & Co and Mishcon de Reya to expand key practices. Shipping lawyer Jennifer Lavelle joined from Clydes while Nicola Simmons, a private wealth specialist, moved over from Mishcon. Both made partner on the move.
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